Royal Rumble 2018
Royal Rumble (2018) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE for the Raw and SmackDown brands. It took place on January 28, 2018, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the thirty-first event under the Royal Rumble chronology, the first to include a women's Royal Rumble match, and consequently, two Royal Rumble matches. Event summary Women’s Royal Rumble Match One woman, two women, 29 women. It’s all the same to Asuka. But while The Empress of Tomorrow made history by winning the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match, one woman who didn’t compete in the historic contest — Ronda Rousey — ended up casting the longest shadow over the evening. With Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flairwatching from ringside, Asuka entered at No. 25, joining a field that included insurgent upstarts, Four Horsewomen and, remarkably, a group of veterans and Legends who proved that they did, indeed, still have it. The first surprise was Lita, who entered at No. 5 and displayed the names of the late Superstars who never got to see this historic moment come to fruition on her arm. She was followed by Torrie Wilson (No. 9), Molly Holly (No. 12), Michelle McCool (No 14), Vickie Guerrero(No. 16), Kelly Kelly (No. 19), Jacqueline (No. 21), Beth Phoenix (No. 24), Nikki Bella (No. 27), Brie Bella(completing her comeback at No. 28) and finally, Trish Stratus at No. 30. With the young Superstars and veterans of generations past sharing the ring, the historic match was a thrilling collision of past and present. Lita dished out a double Moonsault to Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks; Molly dropped Sasha with a Molly-Go-Round that took out both Superstars; The Divas of Doom reunited briefly to thwart a surging Nia Jax; Vickie Guerrero was eliminated en masse by Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Ruby Riott and McCool. Speaking of which, first-ever Divas Champion McCool had the most eliminations with five (Sonya Deville, Liv Morgan, Molly Holly, Vickie and Lana) and was looking like a dark horse favorite before she was finally expelled by Natalya. Proving equally impressive were NXT Women’s Champion Ember Moon — who faced off with Asuka in a renewal of their rivlary — and Mae Young Classic winner Kairi Sane, who delivered Insane Elbows to Sasha and Becky before suffering an upset elimination from Dana Brooke. Asuka, Banks and The Bella Twins survived all the way to the Final Four. The Boss and The Bellas wisely ganged up on Asuka, but Sasha, who was the No. 1 entry in the match, got a little too enthusiastic and shoved the twins aside to get her shots in on The Empress of Tomorrow. Nikki & Brie responded by tossing her over in unison. The Fearless One shocked the WWE Universe when she eliminated Brie moments later, mouthing the unmistakable words to her stunned sister: “I want this.” Asuka, as it turns out, wanted it just a little bit more. Despite suffering a Rack Attack 2.0, The Empress of Tomorrow lured Nikki into a slugfest on the apron. And it was Asuka, with a quick-thinking swipe of Nikki’s legs, who was the last woman standing. Alexa and Charlotte made their way into the ring to find out which title The Empress of Tomorrow would select to compete for at WrestleMania, but unlike Men’s winner Shinsuke Nakamura, she never got the chance. Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey made her entrance to the strains of Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation,” stood in front of the three competitors and pointed at the WrestleMania sign, seemingly implying that she was calling dibs on whichever woman Asuka didn’t select to be her opponent at The Show of Shows. While The Empress of Tomorrow slapped Rousey’s hand away as she went to shake it, guest commentator Stephanie McMahon was much more receptive as Rousey made her exit. The interaction between Ronda and Stephanie implied some kind of agreement had been struck, but for now, the implications of her appearance remain unresolved. Only two things were certain as the Women’s Royal Rumble Match concluded: That 29 women weren’t ready for Asuka, and there’s only one more standing between The Empress of Tomorrow and a title. Results * 30-woman Royal Rumble match for a Women's Championship match at WrestleMania 34: Asuka won by last eliminating Nikki Bella Women's Royal Rumble match entrances and eliminations Other on-screen talent * Ring announcers: JoJo (Raw) & Maria Menounos (Women's Royal Rumble match) * Interviewer: Renee Young * Pre-show panel: Renee Young & Alundra Blayze Image gallery RR_01282018ej_09552--031005581843982239917709679f2a69.jpg 236_RR_01282018ej_09094--7226cf3a4072357cfe226bc2d55e2f90.jpg 237_RR_01282018ej_09213--dc4562241384ed918557c4f6b7535f8f.jpg 239_RR_01282018ej_09236--cf0814dd6b50653bfca61cea11d0b148.jpg 240_RR_01282018ej_09318--5817eb6d03f96751b5daa7f171a28a9f.jpg RR_01282018dg_9577--4f03862aad86d77209a7cfa7888b8631.jpg 241_RR_01282018ej_09377--7e40de80d3ca6aef26d231a91b8d1d68.jpg RR_01282018mm_10162--fcda0096a63f32d9f47c22a85e91675f.jpg RR_01282018dg_10567--cbf71ab93a5e816c02c681a5da8852bd.jpg 243_RR_01282018mm_10254--b5e463fd3fd92bd6f34687300b3bbc87.jpg RR_01282018dg_10654--79537def8c44f43269e5f2d9651cbc4b.jpg 244_RR_01282018ej_10661--d6030f546f39ad3a8c22beea75a113e7.jpg 245_RR_01282018jg_10237--a2ff396ce698ee0b5e34c9f723b4182e.jpg RR_01282018dg_10687--a6d787a182ba6b94de6195ee0860da74.jpg RR_01282018mm_10419--e4bbf826ca4d20465bf1ba023397409a.jpg RR_01282018ej_10432--18f7478fadae571984117d70c083f361.jpg 246_RR_01282018ej_10771--ef363f589b09c602b5852136cb6567d1.jpg RR_01282018dg_10935--75619fabdbdb830f46f8960c4213ed1a.jpg RR_01282018jg_10346--73e3d7401729dd7accaf74b0f43c139d.jpg 247_RR_01282018ej_10955--6b1bd19c2c6e37127c9df88bfe2c1efc.jpg 248_RR_01282018ej_11044--7264a884172b5a9b5a0fd269fc7386de.jpg 249_RR_01282018ej_10853--d641e65bf7632537030c06906b5f36af.jpg 250_RR_01282018ej_10863--3f29978f73c59aae5f3866380d4bc493.jpg 251_RR_01282018ej_11066--c1340b1edd53c3d40a46640c9c3e51ed.jpg 252_RR_01282018ej_11130--222b7b957e7b8d749e0c95a620d8cd6b.jpg 253_RR_01282018ej_11142--6936e3ad5b7439daf5c42d47a0b98cf3.jpg 254_RR_01282018ej_11166--78ea3cefa9521ec422e15197a34d3ed6.jpg 255_RR_01282018mm_11400--614fb54851345a1da5298eefbaded429.jpg 256_RR_01282018dg_11623--d6f5750228fd43fba9d7d9ca1e7105a2.jpg 257_RR_01282018mm_11455--7f3a524766c03c025a3587ff244300bf.jpg 258_RR_01282018ej_11359--33694b207bd92f6d07e3c62933103bc6.jpg 259_RR_01282018ej_11391--0770ad42fd1c9245f29a359861fb3184.jpg 260_RR_01282018mm_11544--b667033350d5fb9c83b97210797fb2de.jpg 261_RR_01282018ej_11405--ec66bb6305fa1a635b30d571499426c8.jpg 263_RR_01282018ej_11440--88a1029b221593f4a265f81efe255f6a.jpg 264_RR_01282018ej_10909--ece319bbc5bde9d51496eb4a841c3d86.jpg 265_RR_01282018mm_11049--8827cdd9c8ee6a6dab5f3007e6a85563.jpg 266_RR_01282018mm_11131--13b40f33817a2e25938fb587574de6db.jpg 267_RR_01282018mm_11158--7431d49ec76ab541ccabd80a79b22110.jpg 268_RR_01282018ej_12242--038f3004c9d9634fa16d305b3a29609d.jpg 269_RR_01282018mm_11230--a11b4bf7fea131967b1f1cf0b7ece401.jpg 270_RR_01282018mm_11258--185d16aac740b30d08e133045c42eff8.jpg 271_RR_01282018mm_44953--a88ce62f3b14cf2e8ae70510542f050a.jpg 272_RR_01282018ej_12423--a4616d3f946edb7161fdec0772d6c5ad.jpg 273_RR_01282018rf_11955--58a1794b94e855441c27b15efb5a8baa.jpg 274_RR_01282018ej_12680--64f54f8ba59cff903b5a01b5c698ac30.jpg Media Category:2018 pay-per-view events Category:WWE pay-per-view events Category:Sasha Banks Category:Becky Lynch Category:Sarah Logan Category:Mandy Rose Category:Lita Category:Kairi Sane Category:Tamina Snuka Category:Dana Brooke Category:Torrie Wilson Category:Sonya Deville Category:Liv Morgan Category:Molly Holly Category:Lana Category:Michelle McCool Category:Ruby Riot Category:Vickie Guerrero Category:Carmella Category:Natalya Category:Kelly Kelly Category:Naomi Category:Jacqueline Category:Nia Jax Category:Ember Moon Category:Beth Phoenix Category:Asuka Category:Mickie James Category:Nikki Bella Category:Brie Bella Category:Bayley Category:Trish Stratus Category:Stephanie McMahon Category:Alexa Bliss Category:Charlotte Category:Ronda Rousey Category:Maria Menounos Category:JoJo Category:Renee Young Category:Alundra Blayze